I hate road cycling

By Mike Street

Road cycling. Its boring. Its rubbish. Most road cyclists just go round in circles. Up to the top of a hill, turn round and back again - wash, rinse, repeat.

Mountain biking is where is at. You get to go to the top of the hill, turn round but this time its bumpy, its muddy, its fast, its dangerous, you go over jumps, round bumps and have to constantly watch out for pot holes. When you're at the bottom you feel like a ninja. A pro. Simple.

This was my view on cycling for years. I used to go out on the trail, find the steepest hill and try and get as muddy as possible. My enthusiasm dropped as I got busy with life, uni and bordom got in the way. Then life got in the way and had to move to Croydon. It was here I found the passion for biking again, oddly, but not on a mountain bike, or a road bike - a fold up bike for my commute.

Circumstances changed and I headed back to Brighton - needing to cycle again, I transformed my mountain bike into a hybrid - buying road tyres and making the riding position a bit more comfortable. But still my heart was on the trail, always wanting to get back in the mud.

That was, of course, until I did the London to Brighton Bike Ride. I loved it. It was that, and the training, that made my mind sing. I don't know what it was, but it twigged. I loved it.

So against all the shouting voices in my heart I bought a road bike. A proper road bike. An this morning I went out, cycled up a hill and turned round again. I loved every single minute of it. I rode and I smiled. I am a convert. Pure and simple.